We don't stop MOVING!!

June 28-July 3

Our lives have all changed drastically with Lucas walking! He walks everywhere and is very accident prone. I'm not even sure I can say he just walks because he is really running sometimes.

Lucas likes to move around so much that he really does not like being anywhere that he cannot walk. This includes...restaurants! However, Lucas was able to take some time out of his busy life to celebrate Pop's Birthday on Monday. We met Pops and Aunt Brooke for his birthday dinner. MiMi was in Arizona moving Lucas' other great-grandma so she couldn't be there, but it was a blast anyway. Lucas really enjoyed flirting with all of the waitresses!
Tuesday, Lucas and I enjoyed some much needed pool time by ourselves. Lucas loves the pool and has discovered that the steps are much more fun to play on than getting into his float.









Wednesday, we joined Daddy for a quick lunch at Arby's and then we went back to his office to show off for all the ladies at his office. Even though Lucas can walk, he still loves to show off on his "push-push"! They just loved Lucas and he was all personality for them. After such a busy afternoon, we still had to go to the grocery store. Lucas eats so much fruit that we have to do a lot of stocking up!










Thursday, Lucas and I headed to our favorite spot...the pool!! Lucas is becoming quite the popular one around there! He screams and laughs at all the children when they circle around his float and go under water.










That night, we went over to the Wheeler's house where Lucas kept us chasing after him all night long! Lucas also got to meet some family friends, Katrina and Matt. To add to the excitement that night, Lucas got to see two baby kittens that MiMi is taking care of until they are old enough to be adopted. At first they were not sure of all the action with a baby and two dogs, but later that night, they were chasing after Luke's toes and following him around!









On Friday, Lucas and I headed down to GiGi's house to hang out. We started by going to eat Luke's favorite food-PIZZA. That boy can eat some pizza! Next, we went to a farmer's market and got some yummy fresh fruits, veggies, and jelly. Before we headed back home, Grandma and Pop-Pop stopped by because they couldn't resist the cutie. Lucas kept them entertained by running all over the place and finding new things to throw and get into! Before we left, Lucas found an American flag and was mesmerized by it. Well at least he was until I got the camera out!

Yep, We Are WALKING!!!

Oh my, life around here has changed!!! Lucas is now WALKING!!!! At the beginning of the week, Lucas took 9 STEPS. We are so proud of him (and worried for us!) It really is absolutely amazing how fast they grow. I love seeing Luke's mind growing and all of the new things he can do daily.

Tuesday morning we changed our routine around a bit and went grocery shopping at 9 a.m. We have found our new favorite time to shop. There were only moms and babies venturing out to do the week's shopping at this time. On a side note, I think it is funny that I find it important enough to now talk about grocery shopping on my blog!










Later Tuesday, we had our much needed Mommy time out Playgroup. This week it was at Lindsay's house. Lucas really likes going there because they layout of the house is like a big circle. He can just go around and around. He's become so observant lately of things hung on the wall. Every time he came around one corner and there were butterflies on the wall, he screamed in delight! Poor Jackson was upstairs sleeping and Lucas really didn't help him get a peaceful nap. The whole crew did get to eat together though. Lucas enjoyed a weird lunch of graham crackers and guacamole. This kid LOVES Mexican food! Mrs. Lindsi was even nice enough to share her bubbles with Lucas and Olivia. They love bubbles!



















Wednesday, Lucas got to spend more time with Olivia and Mrs. Sam. We had some quick but fun in the sun over at their pool. Both babies started getting really sleepy, so headed back early. When we returned to their house, I brought over some white grape juice popsicles which the kids LOVED.

Daddy had a long day at work and just didn't want to sit around the house, so we headed to Walmart for a little shopping. After some shopping, we went to El Porton for dinner. Lucas enjoyed a huge meal of applesauce, avocado, cheese, and beans. This kid is definitely growing and catching up from when he was sick!

Thursday, after Lucas' nap, the whole family headed up to the pool. Lucas had such a great time being thrown in the air by Ben and leisurely floating around in his float. We also had a small picnic lunch during a pool break before heading back in.











Friday, during our chiropractor visit, Lucas surprised me once more and without any assistance getting up or holding on, he started walking around the room! Boy, is he a busy one!

That night, we went to Gigi's house for a yummy dinner of Turketti (which is my favorite meal)! Lucas had a great dinner and was almost too busy to stop and eat. He spent most of the evening showing off his new walking skills and chasing the cat.



















Saturday, we all were very lazy! Lucas had a rough night and therefore took a really long morning nap. Ben and I decided we should probably catch up on some sleep too and slept for an additional 2 hours. We finally had to wake Lucas up so we could get ready for a birthday party. Lucas was of course bragged about because he was walking all around Isabella's house! People kept asking how old he was "either 14-16 months!", and then were shocked when they found out he was only 10 months.









Which by the way, Happy 10 MONTHS Lucas! Lucas turned 10 months old on Saturday and had a blast celebrating! He got to jump in a big inflatable air jumper at Isabella's 3rd birthday party. Lucas loves being around other children-as long as they leave his push-push alone!! We would have stayed around for cake except that Lucas was going on being awake for 6 hours straight and really needed some sleep. So we left and let Lucas take a little nap and then headed out for some Chinese. Lucas really liked being at the restaurant where he could look at all of the cheesy moving pictures on the wall and the fish in the fish tank.









Sunday, Pops came over for a little pre-birthday brunch at O'Charley's. When we got back home, Lucas napped while we all looked at places to go for a vacation. Right now we are undecided between Cancun and Destin. I will be happy to go anywhere!

Later, we headed out to BJ's and Target to get our monthly supply of diapers and paper products. While we were out, we got Lucas some tofu. I am shocked at how much he actually likes it!
Here are our 10 Month Stats:

• Lucas is a great eater and eats just about anything. We are finding that he is a little shy when there are a bunch of people around him and he likes to stick to his known favorites: cheese, bread, bagel, applesauce, and fruit.
• Lucas is walking everywhere now! He is a busy little boy and loves to walk. He still uses his push-push occasionally, but mostly to ram things and people with it.
  
• He likes to jump and really tries hard to do it by himself.
• When he "goes potty" he will wave his hand when it is stinky! So funny!
• Lucas loves to play on his keyboard and thinks he is really jamming to his music.
• He still loves all baby einstein and prefers to watch it in his infant swing still.
• Lucas wants ANYTHING that you are eating! We are really having to be careful because his daddy has a bit of a sweet tooth!
• He does not really have a favorite toy right now because his attention span with it is like Maybe 10 seconds!
• Lucas loves all different sizes and types of balls: bouncy, soccer, beach, football, squishy, hard and soft. If they are small enough, he takes them to the bannister and throws them downstairs! I am definitely losing weight going up and down the stairs!
• He loves all songs that we can sing together: If Your Happy and You Know It, Bending-Bending, Ride Your Bike, Clap-Clap-Clap, and other songs from our baby book.
• Lucas is learning so much everday! Ben taught him "How big is Lucas?" and Lucas throws out his hands so you can say "THIS BIG!"

We love watching Lucas grow and learn new things every day. His sign language vocabulary consists of actually signing: more, eat, all done, ball, book, kiss, milk and story. It is amazing that he understands so much more, he just can't do the signs for it yet. He points to anything that he wants and makes ALL of his wants and demands known!

See everyone soon! Here is a quick video of Lucas playing in the bath and learning he can drink the water...

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful Husband!!!!

First off, I want to say how absolutely wonderful my husband is! He is a great husband and an admirable father. Ben works so hard everyday to ensure that his family is happy. Every morning when Lucas wakes up, he wants to be the first one to get him. He works so hard all day and still makes time to call and check up on his family. When he gets home from work, Ben takes Lucas and has some quality guy time with him. Lucas has become quite a Daddy's Boy lately. Each night Ben gives Lucas his bath and then gives him a baby massage with lotion. Next, he reads Lucas a goodnight story "Just Like Daddy" before giving him to me to feed him. I am so lucky that Ben is a great father and a loving husband. Even though I may get cranky at times when Ben works so much, I know that he does it for his family so that I can stay home with Lucas.

Thank you Honey, I LOVE YOU!

This Father's Day, I wanted to really make a big deal out of it so that Ben really knows how much I appreciate him. We woke up Sunday morning and had coffee and fed Lucas. Next came the presents!!! I surprised Ben and got him a new GRILL!!! He was so excited (even though he did guess what it was-I guess you can't hide a big grill box without some guesses!) Lucas "got" daddy a grill cover, a grate cleaner, a book, and a onesie that says "I Love Daddy" (well that's for Lucas)! Ben was totally shocked and ecstatic about his new toys!
Ben spent the morning putting together the grill while Lucas and I played upstairs. Lucas was in rare form, so here is a video of him telling us "No, no, no, and then playing us by pretending to get his feelings hurt!"

After Lucas' morning nap, we all headed to the boat to see Pop-Pop, Grandma, and Uncle Taylor. Lucas LOVES boat rides and is just mesmerized looking at the water behind the boat. When we found the perfect spot to anchor the boat, Grandma and Lucas got on a float in the water. Lucas wore an adorable life jacket suit with NO diaper. He really thought this entire experience was wierd! But, he loved every minute in the water! He especially liked looking and talking to all the other boats and jet skis around us. It was a day full of excitement at the lake. We were going so fast back to the dock, that Lucas' float flew off the back of the boat and we had to circle several times to grab it. Thanks Uncle Taylor for saving it! After all of that excitement, Lucas crashed out on Daddy while looking at the waves behind the boat.

Our busy father's day continued after the lake because we had to go home and get ready for the Wheeler's to come over for a Father's Day cook out using Ben's new grill. Ben and Uncle Taylor headed up to the store and bought all of the yummy food while Lucas and I started getting things ready at home.











When Pops and MiMi got to our house, we found out that they had already eaten dinner, so we invited my parents over to enjoy all of the food that we bought. MiMi left soon after they got there to go back home. She was leaving the next day to go visit Luke's other Great Grandma that lives out in Arizona.

Lucas was a very busy little boy and trying to get into everything until Grandma finally arrived to play with him. Aunt Brooke and the Schroeders arrived at the same time to our house so we ate right away. Ben did a great job cooking the hamburgers, hot dogs, and baked beans on his new grill! After dinner, Ben left to take Pops back home since MiMi left and my family stayed to help clean up. My parents left and then Uncle Taylor was there to help me give Lucas a bath. Uncle Taylor has become one of Luke's favorite people!


When Ben finally got home after the hour drive, we were exhausted!! Even though it was a crazy busy day, we wouldn't have it any other way and we love it!












Lucas gave us one more Father's Day gift and let us catch him on camera walking!! Enjoy the video...

Happy First Father's Day to the best Daddy ever!